Centralised Management for KVM

Centralised Management for KVM

Make security vs access a simple task to manage.

KVM technology has been with us for a long time now. Most server managers regularly use KVM switches to access servers either locally, or remotely or both. But building up a large scale KVM network can also introduce new problems. Questions such as “Which switch is Server 42 on?”, “Where can I find the WEB server?”, and “How do I get authorisation to access Server 17?” become all too familiar. It is in the larger KVM networks, that centralised management comes into its own. Using products such as KVManager, simplify the process of managing multiple KVM switches whether they be in a single location, or spread throughout the world. Allowing the server manager to set individual and group access rights, makes the whole issue of security vs access a simple task to manage. The server manager can now set access rights per server on a single user or a group of users, and also group servers and other devices (such as serial console ports) together making policy administration a doddle.

Enabling users to switch directly to a server.

Once the users and user groups have been added, and the servers and server groups have been set up, other KVM switches can be added with just a few clicks of the mouse. KVManager can then import the data from each of switches, enabling users to switch directly to a server (assuming they have access rights), rather than having to log onto a KVM switch, bring up its own local menu and then select the required server from the menu.

KVManager becomes a vital piece of acces equipment.

Since the KVManager is at the top of the tree, it becomes a vital piece of access equipment almost over night. To ensure continuous ease of use and continuity of service, it is possible to use two KVManagers together. One acts as a master and the other as a passive slave. In the unlikely event of a product failure or a corrupt database, the passive slave will take over as an active master, and no further changes are necessary, so users will be transparently switched over to the new master and will continue to work without noticing any loss or interruption of service.

KVManager uses various ports which, are user definable.

The KVManager uses various ports through the IP spectrum to communicate. These ports are user definable. Typically, they are ports 389 (for communication from the KVManager to an Active Directory domain controller), 389 (KVManager master to slave), 443 and 22 (for communication between the administrators computer and KVManager), 443 (for communication between a client computer and KVManager), and UDP 3080 / 3081 / TCP443 (from KVM devices back to the KVManager), and finally TCP 900 – 902 (for the communication between the KVM devices and the administrator computer).